


Endings and Beginnings

by Calicia (Merinnan)



Category: Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Fix-It, Gen, Minor Character Death, Possession, Temporary Character Death, star trek level violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-13
Updated: 2020-05-13
Packaged: 2021-03-02 20:00:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,957
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24162475
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Merinnan/pseuds/Calicia
Summary: Dukat’s struggles grew gradually weaker. Sisko’s gaze moved from the Book to the face of his opponent. The redness slowly faded from his eyes, and the piercing blue gaze Sisko knew grew stronger, until the redness faded completely and Dukat, now free of the Wraith, was the one who fell with him. Then the world vanished in a familiar flash of white light.Or, what if it all ended a different way?
Relationships: Dukat & Benjamin Sisko
Comments: 2
Kudos: 13





	Endings and Beginnings

**Author's Note:**

> This fic was originally written for and published in the fanzine F.Y.I., by Orion Press, which featured half a dozen or so alternate versions of the ending of DS9.
> 
> I found my author's copy of F.Y.I. when I moved house, and rediscovered this fic that I wrote for it. I figured that after almost 20 years (doesn't THAT date me?) that the fic deserved to be pulled out into the light of day again, so here it is!

“Adami! Adami, listen to me! Adami! ADAMI!”

Dukat’s throat was raw from yelling as a pair of soldiers dragged him out. How could she do this to him? How could the Pagh-Wraiths do this to him? He had been trying to _help_! Trying to help free the Wraiths, and they had blinded him in their foolishness. Then Adami… Dukat growled under his breath. Ever since discovering his true identity, she had tolerated him only because the Wraiths had sent him. The Wraiths had said she would not supplant him in their favour. Obviously they had lied. Why?

Ducat fought against the two dragging him away, but without his sight he could not fight effectively. He heard grunts of pain with satisfaction when he managed to find vulnerable spots, but his satisfaction faded as they threw him out of the back door into an alley.

He clambered to his fee, grasping the wall beside him. Beg, Adami had said. Beg to survive, and pray to the Pagh-Wraiths for forgiveness. He would _not_ beg, Dukat vowed to himself. He would not reduce himself to begging from Bajorans.

The Pagh-Wraiths were another matter. Dukat’s anger against the Pagh-Wraiths suddenly seemed muted. It wasn’t as intense as it had been just a few moments ago – or had he really been so intensely angry at them? The feeling of anger towards the Wraiths – if it had really existed – passed as he began to reason why they had blinded him.

There must have been a reason for the Pagh-Wraiths to have done this to him. They mustn’t have understood that he was trying to help them, Dukat decided. The Wraiths had been imprisoned for too long, they couldn’t understand the concept of help for help’s sake. They must have thought he intended to try to harm them. If the way to harm them was transcribed anywhere, it would be in the Book.

He would never harm them, didn’t they understand that? They had promised to restore Cardassia to its former glory, to ensure that all Bajorans respected him, to restore Ziyal to him, and for what? Merely for freeing them from the Fire Caves. No, even if he discovered a way to harm them, he would never do it. For Cardassia’s sake, for the sake of his Bajoran children, for Ziyal’s sake…

“Ziyal,” he whispered longingly.

He had to find a way to survive on the streets, Dukat thought, feeling his way along the wall to get out of the alley. He had to find a place where he could be alone to pray to the Path-Wraiths, to explain to them that he would never try to harm them, that he had only been trying to help. Their freedom from the Fire Caves meant too much to him for him to sabotage their plans.

Ducat could feel people looking at him as he made his way slowly through the streets, keeping one hand on the buildings next to him in order to make finding his way easier. He could tell when he moved from one building to another as the texture changed slightly under his fingers. When he came to an alley of crossroad he moved even more slowly, trying to be sure of his footing before he took a step. Several times he was nearly knocked over while crossing a road.

“Are you alright?” a concerned male voice asked him, a hand taking his arm and guiding him in a slightly different direction. Dukat automatically turned his head to face the speaker, then smiled grimly at himself.

“I’m having a little trouble finding my way around,” Dukat replied, amazed at how calm his voice was. “This is my first time here.” Trying to shake the friendly hand off, he adjusted his course back in the direction he had originally been going. The hand tightened and tried to pull him backwards, just as Dukat’s foot kicked a wall. He stopped and allowed himself to be led in a different direction.

“You’re blind,” the voice said, not sounding particularly surprised. “Do you have anywhere to stay?”

“I can look after myself,” Dukat growled. He didn’t need pity or aid from a Bajoran! He didn’t need _their_ help, they needed _his_.

“Yes, I can see,” the voice said dryly. “My name is Kira Ri. You are…?”

“Kira? Major?” Dukat asked, confused. No, this wasn’t her. This was a male Bajoran, he was on Bajor.

“Major? Do you mean Colonel Kira Nerys?” Kira Ri asked. “On Deep Space Nine? She’s my cousin, do you know her?”

“We’ve met,” Dukat said. “On Deep Space Nine,” he added unnecessarily. “Some years ago.”

“Ah,” Ri said. “Well, you said yourself you were new, uh, friend…?”

“Anjohl,” Dukat said, slightly amused by this Kira’s persistence. It must be a family trait, he thought.

“Anjohl, you have nowhere to go. The Prophets teach us to help each other, so please, stay with my family until you have somewhere to go.”

“Very well,” Dukat replied, simply for the irony of staying with the Major’s – no, the _Colonel’s_ – family as an invited guest.

~~~

Dukat walked confidently back along the streets, back to Adami. After a few days of staying with the Kiras, praying daily to the Wraiths to restore his eyesight, his prayers had been answered. After waking up that morning with his sight restored, he feigned blindness and told Kira Ri and his wife that he had met up with an old friend who had invited him to move in.

Now he returned to the work the Wraiths had entrusted to him and Adami. It was a joint effort, they had assured him. Adami’s dislike of him would not interfere in their plans. He was needed in order to free the Wraiths.

He passed various soldiers, monks, and vedeks along the way to Adami’s quarters, but no one interfered with him. Reaching her quarters, he paused, lounging in the doorway.

“Hello, Adami,” he said. At his voice, she looked up.

“Dukat,” she said. Ducat detected a slight note of surprise underneath the veiled hostility in her voice. “They have forgiven you, then?”

“They have,” Dukat said, leaving the doorway and strolling into the room.

~~~

“You honour me,” Dukat told Adami in the Fire Caves several days later, his voice husky with the ecstasy of victory. The Pagh-Wraiths would be freed! Nothing would stop them!

Raising the glass to his lips, Dukat paused, noting Adami’s self-satisfied little smile. _She’s up to something_ , he thought. His mind seemed foggy, and he suddenly wasn’t quite sure why he stopped before drinking the potion. He was drinking first, he was being honoured.

 _Why would she want to honour me?_ he thought, momentarily shaking the fog from his mind. _She would happily kill me. To give me any honour would gall her. So why does she want me to drink first?_

~~~

Sisko walked hurriedly through the Fire Caves. Dukat was attempting to free the Pagh-Wraiths, and, as the Emissary of the Prophets, Sisko had to stop him.

“You honour me,” Dukat’s voice said, echoing through the caves. He was nearby, Sisko thought, and he was completing the ritual. Could he be stopped in time? He must.

“What’s wrong?” Kai Winn’s voice echoed. Sisko increased his hurried walk to a run.

“What will it do?” Dukat’s voice demanded.

“You know what it will do,” Winn replied. “It’s part of the ritual to free the Pagh-Wraiths.”

 _Keep arguing!_ Sisko thought. _Give me time to get there._

“Why do you want me to drink first?” Dukat demanded. “Not to honour me. Not me, Gul Dukat! You are too blind to realise that you should honour me! This – this will kill me, won’t it?”

Panting heavily, Sisko arrived at the entrance to the central cave to see Kai Winn and a Bajoran man standing on a precipice, glaring at each other. The man held a goblet in his hand, which he abruptly threw to the ground, shattering it.

“Dukat, what have you done?” Kai Winn cried, looking at the broken goblet, its liquid contents spilling on the ground.

 _Dukat?_ Sisko thought. _That’s Dukat?_

“Why did you try to kill me?” the man asked, Dukat’s voice coming from his mouth. Sisko shook his head. It _was_ Dukat.

“The Pagh-Wraiths require the life of one who serves them in order to set them free!” Winn cried. She drew a dagger from her robes, and stabbed Dukat in the chest as Sisko hurtled towards them, intent on stopping them.

Dukat sank to his knees, his hands going to the dagger in his chest. He stared up at Winn, who regarded him with satisfaction.

“No!” Sisko cried.

Winn turned to face him as Dukat toppled onto his side. “Captain Sisko,” she said coolly. “You’re too late. You have failed as the Emissary, and you have failed to stop me from restoring the Pagh-Wraiths to their true place!” Her eyes glinted. “Hail the true gods of Bajor, Emissary!”

Sisko stared at her in horror, as she stood on the edge of the precipice in her kai’s robes, clutching the evil Book to her chest. “You never deserved to be kai,” Sisko growled at her.

Winn laughed. “No, not of the Prophets. But it was the Pagh-Wraiths who ensured that I would be kai, so they could approach me and show me my true destiny as _their_ kai!” The haughtiness on her face increased as he stepped towards her grimly. Catching a movement from Dukat’s fallen body, he stopped and looked.

Dukat had been transformed from his Bajoran appearance back to his true Cardassian features, and he slowly sat up. His eyes shone red. “You have failed your Prophets,” he said, in a voice that was both Dukat’s voice and not Dukat’s voice.

With a sudden shiver, Sisko remembered the time Jake had been possessed by Kosst Amojin, another Path-Wraith. He heard a gasp, and looked to see Winn backing along the precipice, eyes wide open in startlement and fear.

“You have served your purpose,” Dukat said to her. “You have served us well, and we will keep our promise to you. You are our kai, and you will rule Bajor under us.”

“No!” Sisko said fiercely. “You have not won. I’m still here, and I will case you back where you belong!”

Dukat laughed. “How?” he asked derisively.

“You will _not_ ,” Winn said, no longer afraid now that Dukat had reaffirmed his promise of power. She dropped the Book and moved towards Sisko abruptly. He instinctively stepped back. Winn’s hands brushed the front of his uniform, rather than grab it as she intended. Sisko smoothly turned with the motion, and the lack of resistance sent Winn off-balance. She teetered on the edge of the precipice before falling into oblivion.

“Do you really think that banishing us will be as easy as killing a foolish linear being?” Dukat asked coolly.

Sisko turned as he raised his hand. A bolt of red energy shot from his fingertips. It hit Sisko in the chest, throwing him across the cave and slamming him into the far wall. Sisko rolled out of the way as another bolt shot towards him.

He charged Dukat, narrowly dodging several bolts. Colliding with the Cardassian, Sisko’s momentum sent them both sprawling. Sisko scrambled back until crumbling stone beneath his feet warned him that he was dangerously close to the edge of the precipice.

Dukat sent another bolt of energy, which Sisko barely ducked in time. The second bolt caught in in the chest again, throwing him along the precipice. Groping for something to throw, Sisko’s hands fell upon the Book. He grabbed it and raised it as a shield as he pulled himself into sitting position.

Dukat’s eyes narrowed, and he dropped his hand. “Give that to me.”

“No,” Sisko gasped, climbing to his feet. “I will _not_.”

Dukat took several quick steps towards Sisko, who backed off, still holding the Book as a shield. “Give it to me!”

“No!” Sisko bumped against the cave wall and stopped, Dukat still advancing on him. “I’ll throw it over the edge,” he threatened.

“Then you will die.”

“But you won’t have the Book. That’s what you want, what you need, isn’t it? The Book is the source of your power, to destroy it will destroy you!”

“Nothing can destroy us.”

“Maybe not, but to lose the Book will deprive you of your power, won’t it? WON’T IT?!”

Dukat didn’t answer, but lunged towards Sisko, grasping the Book with his fingers. They grappled over the Book on the edge of the precipice, until Sisko slipped and they both plummeted down, down, down. Even while falling, each tried to tear the Book from the other’s grasp.

Dukat’s struggles grew gradually weaker. Sisko’s gaze moved from the Book to the face of his opponent. The redness slowly faded from his eyes, and the piercing blue gaze Sisko knew grew stronger, until the redness faded completely and Dukat, now free of the Wraith, was the one who fell with him. Then the world vanished in a familiar flash of white light.

~~~

Sisko looked around him. He was in no strange-but-familiar place. This time, he stood in a white nothingness.

“The Sisko has done well.”

Sisko spun to face the Prophet named Sarah. “Mother!”

“The Sisko has stopped the Other,” she said, circling him. “The Sisko’s task in the linear plane is done.”

“What do you mean, my task in the linear plane is done?” he demanded. “I stopped the Pagh-Wraiths, but I still have work – important work.”

“The Sisko’s task in the linear plane is done,” the Prophet repeated. “The Sisko is now one of us.”

“One of you? A Prophet?” Sisko asked. “But I have to go back!”

Sarah shook her head. “The Sisko is non-linear. The Sisko’s linear form is gone.”

“You can bring it back!” he said. “I have to go back. The task you set me may be completed, but I have other tasks.”

“Those tasks are of no consequence,” she told him.

“They are!” Sisko argued. “Dad, Jake-O, Kassidy and the baby, they need me! I _have_ to go back.”

“They are not of Bajor,” the Prophet said. “The Sisko is of Bajor. The Sisko is one of us now.”

“Mother, isn’t there anything of Sarah left in you?” he pleaded. “Didn’t any trace of Humanity remain when you left her? My family needs me, I can’t leave them. Not now.”

Sarah paused in her circling. “The Sisko wishes to remain linear?”

“Yes! When I die naturally, make me one of you, but don’t take me now! Not when my family needs me so badly. Mother, please…”

“My son,” she whispered, touching his cheek with her fingertips. “To return you to the linear plane means returning the one with you. The one who helped the Others.”

“Dukat?” Sisko whispered, stunned. If the Prophets returned him, they would have to also return Dukat? Dukat, the former Prefect? The instigator of the Cardassian alliance with the Dominion? The one who had caused so much trouble in three quadrants?

“Yes,” Sarah replied. “You fall together, and lose your linear forms together, so you must be restored to the linear plane together. To send one back is to send both back. Upon your return, when one leaves the linear plane, so does the other.”

“You mean if he dies, I will too?” he asked, incredulous.

“Yes. My son, do you wish to be linear again?”

Sisko thought. To be linear again, to return to Jake and Kassidy, meant loosing Dukat on the galaxy to wreak who-knew-what havoc. Then again, who in the known galaxy would have him? Who would trust him? Who would not kill him on sight?

Sisko thought it over. Once out of Federation and Bajoran space, Dukat might be able to find somewhere to stay. Maybe on an isolated Cardassian world where no one knew him, or a planet that had been only peripherally involved in the Dominion War. There was no way Dukat could possibly stir up trouble again.

Then, he – Sisko – could return to Jake and Kassidy. Return for the birth of his and Kassidy’s child, and the chance to be a complete and happy family again. Jake and Kassidy needed him, the child needed him, and he needed them just as badly. He couldn’t leave them; even if Dukat found a way back to power, he couldn’t leave Jake and Kassidy like this. And maybe – maybe – if Dukat lived too, in some way he could find redemption.

Sisko looked at the Prophet. “Yes.”

~~~

Regaining consciousness, Dukat stirred on the hard ground. Was he dead? Adami had stabbed him. The last thing he remembered was staring at her as he fell. Dimly, he thought he remembered hearing Sisko’s voice, before blackness engulfed him. Surely he had died then? If he had, how could he now be thinking about it? There was no such thing as an afterlife, only lesser cultures believed in that nonsense.

He must be in DS9’s Infirmary, he decided. It must have been Sisko he heard. Sisko wouldn’t have wanted him to escape Federation ‘justice’ by dying. He must have been taken to DS9, and that idealistic doctor, Bashir, had saved him.

After the blackness he thought he could recall falling endlessly with Sisko. He must have drifted back into consciousness once or twice, and that dreamlike ‘memory’ must have been his mind trying to make sense of the images he glimpsed. That decided, Dukat opened his eyes.

And stared up at the cavernous ceiling of the main cave in the Fire Caves.

Dukat stared upwards for a long moment, then turned his head to one side. Sisko lay beside him, unconscious. Dukat expelled a long breath, then turned his head to the other side. He stared down into a chasm. Turning his head away from the precipice to stare at the ceiling again, Dukat wondered what had happened. He was still in the Fire Caves, alive, when by all rights he should be dead.

Lying there, thinking about the past year, Dukat found it hard to remember much. It was as though he was trying to see through one of the thick mists that covered Netapka Province in winter. He could vaguely remember images – Damar, Weyoun, Sisko, Kai Winn, Major Kira. _Colonel_ Kira, something inside him nagged. _Had she been promoted?_ he wondered. She deserved it.

He also vaguely remembered other people. If he thought hard, he could remember names and faces. Kosst Amojin. Mika. Dr. Cox. A woman who looked like Meru, but wasn’t. A half-Cardassian baby, not Ziyal. Ziyal…a wave of grief swept through him, but he didn’t let it overwhelm him. His grief over her death was where the mists over his memories began, and he wanted to keep a clear head from now on.

Commander Dax, burning but not burning. Dukat gasped at how clear that image was. They were in a Bajoran temple, and she was floating off the ground, ‘burning’ in a red light that came from his hand. He couldn’t control it, couldn’t stop it. It was as if he wasn’t in control of his own body. The rest of the memory faded into mists, except for his voice. _I never meant you any harm._

“I never meant you any harm,” he repeated softly. That image couldn’t be true. It must have been a mistake, he would never seriously harm one of Sisko’s command crew. He liked those arrogant Starfleeters, they were so easy to annoy for his own amusement. He smiled.

“Mmmmph,” Sisko groaned.

Dukat glanced over as Sisko opened his eyes. A moment of disorientation was followed by the appearance of the familiar mixture of wariness and intense dislike. Both men remained silent, until Dukat decided that the silence needed to be broken. “Hello, Captain.”

“Dukat,” Sisko replied warily. His eyes flickered down towards his hands. Dukat glanced down as well, and saw the Book lying between them.

Dukat was almost surprised at the depth of the hatred and revulsion he felt at the sight of it. It had something to do with why he couldn’t remember anything, he was sure. He was equally sure that it had played a large part in something he had done during the time he couldn’t remember. Something he would have never stooped to normally, but he wasn’t sure what, exactly, that was. He abruptly pushed himself into a sitting position, grabbed the Book, and flung it over the precipice.

He watched the Book fall, getting smaller and smaller until it disappeared from sight, before turning back to Sisko, who had also sat up. Still way, Sisko now seemed slightly surprised, but also relieved.

“That Book should have never been in existence,” Dukat said. He wasn’t sure why he said it, but it felt right. He wasn’t sure, or couldn’t remember, what the Book did, but it should never have been written.

“You’re the last person I would expect to say that,” Sisko said, surprise overshadowing intense dislike – hatred, even. “But I agree with you,” he added, resignation evident in his voice. “It should never have existed. It was even more evil that you.”

Dukat turned to him in surprise. “Do you really think I’m evil, Captain?”

“Yes,” Sisko replied.

“What have I done that was evil? Everything I have ever done, I have done for Cardassia, Bajor, or someone I loved. You may not agree with my motives or methods, but I have always done what I considered was right, even if it mean circumventing Central Command’s orders, or if it adversely affected me. I deserve respect for what I have done, not your judgement and condemnation.”

Sisko snorted. “You still believe that, don’t you, Dukat? Your ego is so large, you honestly believe that people should respect you. You can’t see anything wrong with what you’ve done.”

“I…,” Dukat began, ready to launch into a passionate tirade, then stopped. He was getting a strong sense of déjà vu. “We’ve had this conversation before, haven’t we?” he asked.

Sisko regarded him suspiciously. “On that planetoid, after the _Honshu_ was destroyed. Right before you attacked me, stranded me, and flew off in a shuttle with the intention of destroying Bajor.”

“I would never destroy Bajor!” Dukat responded angrily. “I love it as much as I love Cardassia!”

“And you’ve done a good job destroying Cardassia as well!” Sisko interrupted. “Don’t give me that, Dukat, you’ve dragged three quadrants into war because of your arrogance and hunger for power!”

Dukat stared at him, almost speechless. “I just wanted to regain Cardassia’s position,” he said softly. “I just wanted Cardassia to be strong again. I just wanted Bajor back.”

“You failed,” Sisko said in a low and deadly voice. “Bajor belongs to itself, not to you or Cardassia or anyone else, and it will _stay_ that way. Cardassia has even less power now that it did before you made a pact with the Devil and brought the Dominion into the Alpha Quadrant. The Dominion decides Cardassian policy. The Dominion decided to throw away Cardassian lives. The Dominion decides to buy new allies with Cardassian territory. Cardassia’s streets are overrun with Jem’Hadar, and Damar now leads the Cardassian Resistance. Cardassians fight Cardassians! _That_ is what you have done.”

 _No, this can’t be possible,_ Dukat thought. But looking at Sisko, he could see that the Human meant everything he said. The Dominion had absorbed and annexed Cardassia, and it was now a _Cardassian_ Resistance that fought against an Occupation army. Under different circumstances, he was sure that Major – Colonel – Kira, at least, would find it vastly amusing.

“That was never meant to happen,” Dukat said.

“What was meant to happen?”

“The Dominion was meant to help Cardassia regain its position, Terok Nor, and Bajor, and then to take some Alpha Quadrant territory in payment. Then we were going to evict them from Cardassia. Cardassia was never going to stay part of the Dominion!”

“The Dominion was never going to let you leave.”

“I think they would have, eventually. Even the Dominion has its weaknesses.” Dukat sighed. “But Ziyal died. I don’t know what happened to me, but this is the first time I’ve thought clearly since she died – however long ago that was – and I’ll never be able to show you that my plan would have worked.”

“What do you mean, ‘however long ago that was’?” Sisko asked.

Dukat smiles grimly. “I don’t know how long ago Ziyal died, Captain. I can’t remember. Everything that’s happened since then is shrouded in a fog. This is the first time that I’ve been able to think clearly since that day.”

Sisko looked at him silently for a moment. Then, “You can’t remember anything at all?”

“A few things,” Dukat replied. “Names and faces. Images. Commander…” he paused, “…Dax.” He looked searchingly at Sisko. “What happened to her?” he asked, almost pleading. _Please don’t tell me…_

“You killed her,” Sisko said harshly. “You killed her and closed the wormhole.”

Dukat bowed his head, suddenly tired beyond belief. “I never meant her any harm. I never meant any of you any harm.”

“It’s a bit late for that,” Sisko told him. “You’re caused not only her death, but the deaths of billions of innocent people. It’s time you paid for that, Dukat. Come with me, and turn yourself in.”

Dukat raised his head, and laughed shortly. “I don’t think so, Captain. If I did that, I know exactly what would happen. A trial, based on your amusing concept of innocent until proven guilty, only this would be a farce. You’ve already found me guilty. You profess disgust at the Cardassian justice system, but at least we aren’t hypocritical like you.

“The Bajorans, or the Klingons – probably both of them – would demand my execution. And the obliging Federation will give it to them, despite your claims of being too civilised for executions. I’m sorry, Captain, but I don’t feel like being subjected to ridicule and mockery, Federation moralising, or hypocritical Federation ‘justice’, and I certainly don’t feel ready to die.”

“You wouldn’t be executed,” Sisko said.

“Come now, Captain, surely you aren’t that naïve. Of course I would be. If the Federation won’t do it to oblige their friends and allies, Bajor will demand my extradition and execute me after a mock trial of their own. Maybe not even that. If not Bajor, then the Klingons. No matter who does it, if I turn myself in I will be executed.”

Both men stared at each other in the dim cave, Dukat defiant and Sisko reflective. Dukat wondered what he was thinking about. No matter what he said, he was sure Sisko would disregard it. Despite his protestations of civilisation and morality, Sisko wanted him dead. So then why did it appear that he was struggling with what Dukat had said?

“If you were found insane…,” Sisko began.

“…it wouldn’t matter,” Dukat replied. “Even _if_ I was, which I am not.” Sisko fell silent again.

 _Strange,_ Dukat thought. _He’s trying to find a reason for me_ not _to be turned over to Federation allies and killed. Why?_

“The Prophets said,” Sisko began again, “that our lives are entwined. We were restored to life together, and we will die together.”

A smile spread over Dukat’s face. “My dear Captain Sisko!” he said in delight. “Are you saying what I think you’re saying? That my death will kill you?”

Sisko nodded reluctantly. Dukat’s smile grew into a grin. “Well then, Benjamin – may I call you Benjamin, since our lives are now so interwoven? – Benjamin, it appears you have no choice but to let me go.”

Sisko glared at him coldly. “You may _not_ call me Benjamin. And I don’t have to let you go. My death would be a small price to pay for yours.”

“Would it?” Dukat asked. “Think about it, Captain – is your life worth revenge? Think about your son. Doesn’t he deserve a father?”

Ruthlessly, Dukat quashed the memories of his own children that the mention of young Jake Sisko evoked. He hadn’t seen his full children since he left Cardassia in disgrace over Ziyal. He would likely never see them again.

As for Ziyal…he sighed inwardly. He would never see Ziyal again. There was a small – extremely small – chance that he may see his other children again, even if only from a distance, but Ziyal was gone for good. He heard a sigh he thought was his own until he glanced at Sisko.

“Sigma-5-alpha-blue-4-9-3 is a priority code that will get you through any of our Alliance blockades or checkpoints,” Sisko said. “There’s a runabout half a kilometer east of the Fire Caves. Leave now, before I change my mind.”

Dukat stood and walked to the entrance of the cave, then stopped and looked back at Sisko, who stared dully at the precipice.

“Goodbye, Captain Sisko,” he said. “Maybe one day, you’ll understand that I’m not the man you believe me to be.”

“I wouldn’t count on it,” Sisko said, not turning around.

“You never know, Dukat replied. He paused. “We’ll meet again, Captain.”

“I wouldn’t count on that, either,” Sisko replied, a dry note creeping into his voice.

Dukat smiled slightly. “Oh, but Benjamin, _I_ would,” he said, before leaving.

~~~

Sisko waited until he heard Dukat’s footsteps fade away before standing and leaving the Fire Caves. There was no sign of the runabout where he had told Dukat it would be, and there was no sign of it in the sky, either.

“Good luck,” he murmured, inexplicably sorrowful at the disappearance of his adversary. Life without Dukat just wouldn’t be as interesting. Then he sat down to wait, sure that it wouldn’t be long before someone from DS9 came for him.


End file.
